


stands so grave and quiet at the mouth of hell

by cheschi



Series: the boy king and the bird queen [1]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Dark-ish, F/M, neverland angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-04
Updated: 2016-07-04
Packaged: 2018-07-20 02:16:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 282
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7386679
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cheschi/pseuds/cheschi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What keeps them burning—magic or belief or fear, Wendy's not all too quite sure.</p>
            </blockquote>





	stands so grave and quiet at the mouth of hell

**Author's Note:**

> bc we did jane eyre in class and i always got really strong darling pan vibes from it (even if i stopped reading the book at some point lol) and also bc i've been listening to a lot of songs that remind me of dp (i.e.: light up the dark by gabrielle aplin, which you can totally listen to while reading this)

Wendy sees a great many things around the fires of Neverland. 

She has seen beginnings and she has seen laughter and destruction in between and she has seen endings. 

On her first night on the island, a great feast was held around the pits in their honor. There were platters of fruit and cheese, pixie dust creating an effervescent shimmer as they were strung on boughs, and Peter offering her a seat at his right side at the head of the table. She is torn between seeing it as the beginning of her queenhood and the end of all she's known.

Over the years, the faces illuminated by the flames change but the constant presence, the guardian of the hearth and tender of its flames, is Pan. His eyes are made even greener by the red of the fires. Her heart beats a tune that sounds like drumbeats and wilderness.

She tells them stories of Icarus. Icarus who wove wings out of bronze and wax and jumped, only to be blinded by the searing sun and fell to a death in the ocean.

"That's what happens to those trying to leave a place they're not meant to." Peter smiles. She can tell he's amused by the upturn of his mouth and the glint in his eyes. What he said serves as both a warning and a reminder to them all.

"Time for bed, boys." He plays the role well, the make-believe father to her pretend mother. "Can't have you tired in the morning." 

They retire to bed, all of them, with the burning embers in the background. What keeps them burning—magic or belief or fear, Wendy's not all too quite sure.

**Author's Note:**

> wrote this ages ago but rediscovered it in my pile of drabbles/ficlets hooray


End file.
